Diane Came Home
by sunnymadden
Summary: In an alternate universe, Diane returns to Boston immeadiately to comfort an equally hurting Sam cope with the loss of Coach. Obviously set before season 4. This is now complete!
1. Chapter 1

July 20th of 1985 was one of the hardest days of Sam's life. It was the day of Coach's funeral services and it took all he had to not break down. He seemed to be a pillar of strength as he helped lift his casket as a pallbearer. He seemed as cool as a cucumber as he managed to flawlessly deliver the 23rd psalm while those around him crumbled in despair. He lost it when they began the burial service. The priest said he was made from dirt and to dirt he shall return. Sam didn't like that at all; Ernie Pantusso was an angel and to heaven he shall return.

He split right after that. He just needed to go home and cry it out. He buried his friend, his employee, his mentor, his father. God took one single man away from this earth a couple of days ago but Sam figured God didn't realize that the one man equaled four men to him. A couple of weeks before he had said goodbye to Diane for she was going to Europe and was planning on getting married. Carla would be leaving too but only for a little while. Her sixth child was going to be born soon. Man, he thought, everytime I lose, Carla gains.

Out of the car and into the blinding sun, he makes a mad dash through the front door, up the stairs, and turns the key. He was finally home and this is where he was going to stay for the rest of the day. He locked the door behind him, went to the windows to draw the blinds, and to the phone that he kept of the hook. He did not want to be disturbed. He was just about to lay on the couch when there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Sam asks, annoyed.

"Sam, honey, it's me," a familiar voice said, coming through the door hinges.

"Diane, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I know about Coach," she said, beginning to cry. "I tried to reach out to you earlier but I couldn't."

"Sweetheart, come back later."

"Sam Malone, open the door!"

With a heavy sigh, he rolled off the coach and crept to the door. He was in no mood to comfort anyone. Any other time he would have been delighted to see her again but today was just not the day. He opened the door to find her looking as broken as he felt. Her hair was a mess, her eye makeup had spilled onto her cheeks, and she just looked like such a lost soul. The sight of her poor self made tears come to his eyes.

"Come here, Sweetheart," he says drawing her close and shutting the door behind her.

"I'm so sorry," she says, clinging to him tight. "So, so sorry. You loved him so."

"I'm sorry, too, Diane. I know you loved him too."

"I did, too," her voice was beginning to break. "I've cried all the way back here on the plane."

"At least you had Frasier's shoulder to cry on."

"No I didn't," she says breaking away. She can't look at him while she delivers this news. "I told him I didn't want to marry him."

"What?! Why did you do that?"

"I don't love him that much," she says sitting down on the couch. "I knew it for some time. Coach saved my life on that one."

"How'd he do that?"

"He gave me the courage to walk away. I heard he passed on and that was when I decided life was too short to live for someone else's dream."

"Well," Sam said with a smile that hadn't been on his face for a couple of days. "I'm sure Coach is proud of you."

"Frasier is going to hate me. I don't blame him," she says, staring off into space. "I guess I did what I had to do though."

"I don't hate you," he tells her with a cheek kiss. "I'm glad you came to your senses and have come back to Boston. I sure could use you."

"Well," she says with a shy smile. "It's good to be wanted."

"No, no, needed. I need you right now."

"That's the best thing you've ever said to me," Diane says as she pulls him into a hug that the both of them will never want to break away from.


	2. Chapter 2

Diane cooked dinner for the both of them that night. It was a modest dinner of scrambled eggs and toast because Sam was never one to go grocery shopping. He loved to eat but never really took the time to make anything. He almost always dined out or ordered in. The only time Diane can remember Sam eating a home cooked meal was when she was the one cooking for him. Sam thought that it was the best breakfast for dinner he ever had. That was Diane for you, he figured, always making the ordinary extraordinary.

Over much arguing, Diane ended up doing the dishes too. She had offered to do so but Sam wasn't about to let her, after all they were his dishes. Diane had said it was the least she could do after making a fool of herself in Europe instead of staying in Boston and making herself useful. Sam backed down after that but the horny devil's pitchfork rose. He knew what he could do to repay her. While she was scrubbing the frying pan, he snuck up behind her and gave the sweet spot on her neck a kiss. She giggled with pleasure as she stuck the pan on the drying rack.

"Not now," Diane said squirming away from him.

"What?! Come on!"

"Nope!"

"Why not?"

"I have to read the newspaper first. You know I always read the paper after I've had dinner."

"Come on, Diane! There must have been a million papers all over Europe but there was no Sammy in Europe."

"No, you come on," she said getting a little irritated. "I haven't read a newspaper in English since England! I promise you, when I get done, I will meet you in the bedroom wearing nothing but a g-string and a smile."

"Sounds like a deal," he said as he sat back down in the living room. He was willing to wait for that. Damn you, Boston Herald!

"Oh my God," Diane said with a little wail in her voice. Sam jumped up to see what the fuss was about. He put his hand on her shoulder while he looked at what she was reading. It was a piece on Dr. Frasier Crane.

**Boston's Psychiatry Prodigy Leaving Europe For Talk Show Job in Seattle.**

"That's terrible," Diane whispered.

"Terrible? How's that terrible? It's great! He got a new job! You should be happy for him."

"Oh Sam," said says, leaping out of the chair. "Don't you get it? Seattle, Washington!"

"So? A lot of people like it there."

"It's over 3,000 miles away from Boston. He's doing it so he can't come back here and face me. He hates me just like I knew he would."

"Diane, I don't really know what happened but..."

"But, I just know how to drive away men that love me! I dumped Frasier and Coach died while I was gone. Who's left?"

"Me?"

"I don't know how you do it," she says with her arms up in the air. "You always want me back no matter what I've done."

"So didn't Coach. Remember how you came back to me after Coach told you I needed you? Well, he obviously did it again, from heaven anyway."

With that, Diane flung her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. She would never get over her amazement at how Sam could be there for her the moment she needed him most.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, Sweetheart, what's taking you so long?" Sam called out to Diane from the bed.

"I'm brushing my teeth, Sam," Diane replied from the bathroom.

"How many teeth you got in that mouth anyway?"

"Sam Malone. I know perfectly well why you're impatient but you know me, I work better when I take my time and I'm not rushed."

"RIght, right," Sam replies with a big grin. "It's been a while. So what color is your g-string, huh? Give me a little sneak peek at least."

"Sam, I'm not wearing one."

"Oh, well, I don't care," he says with a hint of disappointment. "It all goes to the same place anyway; the floor."

"You don't have to worry about my underwear at all," she says peeking out from the bathroom door. "I'm not wearing any."

"You? No underwear?" Sam asks pleasantly flabbergasted. Diane can only smile at him.

"Well, Sam, when in Rome..."

"Are you saying Italian women don't wear underwear?"

"I'm saying Europe kind of taught me to let loose."

That's when she finally came out. Sam took his time staring at the beautiful woman looking back at him. He liked what he saw. He could tell she had gained weight because her hips had gotten wider and somehow her breasts seemed fuller. Her stomach, on the other hand, still managed to be as flat as a pancake. He looked further down south and saw no trace of pubic hair. Not only did she no longer wear panties, she shaved off her cute little bush, too.

"Ready to do this?"

"I've missed this," she admits with a nod.

"Well, don't just stand there," he said pulling off the bedsheets to fully reveal his own naked self. "You want it, come and get it."

Diane wanted it, too. She would never fully admit so, but Frasier couldn't satisfy her on his best day. Not being able to stand it any longer, she jumped on him. She was never able to hurt Sam. He had called her "the butterfly" because even when she came on strong, she was gentle to the touch. At first, she thought that was an insult but come to find out, it was the best compliment. Sam liked it when the women were gentle. He, on the other hand, plowed into her like nobody's business. Diane liked it rough; the harder the better for her.

They always started with the touching. Sam liked Diane to massage his chest. She never knew what it was about that but it somehow always got him going. She knew he was ready when he tickled her stomach. That was the only place on her body that was ticklish and it made her giggle and squirm and that really turned Sam on. He would then flip her over and finger her in between the legs to get her wet. She in return would massage his neck until she felt him enter her. She held on tight because when he came on, it was like a hurricane. She was wet, he was wild and they didn't know how long it was going to last.

When Sam got his, Diane then got on top of him again. She would let Sam inside of her just a little enough to say so and then would tease him a little with circular motions. It always made him crazy and he wanted more but she wouldn't give in until he was back on top. That was when the cycle would continue until Sam would orgasm. It always excited Diane to her core. It was like a lion's roar and she would feel like the queen of a jungle. He would kiss her lips, the only time they ever would when they had sex, when it was all over.


	4. Chapter 4

A couple weeks had gone by and things were slowly reutrning to normal. Diane once again put on her waitress apron and picked up a tray. Cliff and Norm were happy to see her back. They noticed that Sam was always happier when she was around. If their Sammy was happy, they were happy. It made a little easier of a transition knowing that Carla wasn't going to be around to harrass her. She was in the hospital recuperating after the birth of her son, Bennet Ludlow Jr. Sam had told Diane about how she confided in him that she hoped it would be another girl that way the baby could have relatively new hand-me-downs. Lucia was barely two and Gino, the youngest boy until now, was going on ten. Almost a whole decade had passed since Carla had given birth to a son.

There were some new faces to get used to seeing around the place. Angeline "No-Neck" Canale was Carla's sister who had stepped up to take her place while she was on maternity leave. Diane was puzzled by her. Like Carla, she was no happy camper, but she was quiet about it. She almost never talked to anyone if she didn't have to. Whenever Diane tried to reach out to her, she would give her that old Italian-black-magic sneer and Diane would back off. She was actually almost thankful that at least Carla talked to you, no matter what she ended up saying.

Then there was Mr. Woody Boyd. Diane and Sam took to him right away. He had Coach's old soul in his brand new body. He was an innocent cutie pie with a real redneck background. His being was as pure and down to earth as the Midwestern soil he grew up on.

That didn't stop anybody from missing Coach though. Tears started to spring into everyone's eyes whenever his name was mentioned. Sam may have been the closest to the man than anybody. He was holding up remarkably well, as anyone in the bar could have told you. They all prayed hard that Sam wouldn't hit the bottle again, and he didn't. Sometimes God answers your prayers loud and clear. Diane sometimes had a harder time concealing her emotions. Especially the first couple of days back she would sit in Sam's office on break and cry out her grief for Mr. Ernie Pantusso.

It was closing time once again. Everybody had gone home except for Sam. He was putting up the last stool on the bar when he heard a loud knock on the door.

"Sorry, we're closed," Sam answered.

That didn't stop whomever. The person just simply knocked again.

"I said we're closed!" Sam exclaimed, getting agitated. "If you knock again, I swear I will call the police!"

"Sam, it's Dr. Frasier Crane."

Sam stopped in his tracks at the sound of his old, familiar voice. A part of him was happy he knew who the person was knocking on his bar door so late at night. A part of him was frightened. The man was dumped not that long ago and who knows what mental state he was in? After all, just because somebody has a degree in pshyciatry, doens't mean they aren't gaunteed to not go mad themselves.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm not going to hurt you, Sam. I'm okay. Can I please come in?"

Well, he did sound okay, Sam figures. He sprinted to the door to finally let the poor man in. When he opened it, he saw the same old doc with that same smug smile he always had. Sam smiled back at him. He could never help but like the guy.

"Hi, Sam."

"Hi, Fras."

"I know it's late, but is Diane here?"

"No. She has gone back home for the night."

"I just want to talk to her, Sam."

"Well, Fras, if you love someone, you should let them sleep," Sam joked with a playful punch to Frasier's shoulder. Frasier got a little chuckle out of that.

"Yes, yes, I believe you're right. Will she be here tomorrow?"

"Yes. She'll be here."

"Good. Tommorrow will be my last day in Boston. I'm just passing through on my way to Seattle."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Sam says extending his hand. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Frasier says, shaking Sam's hand. "That's partly why I wanted to see her again before I left for good."

"Oh..."

"I had gotten the job right around the time we decided to get married. I wanted it to be sort of a honeymoon surprise. When Diane decided not to go through with the marriage, I told them I could start sooner than later."

"I see," Sam says with his arms now folded and looking down at the floor. He really didn't know what to make of the revelation. It wasn't even for him to hear.

"Please, just tell her I will see her tomorrow and please don't repeat what I told you."

"You got it."

"Well," Frasier said, once again shaking Sam's hand. "Good night."

"Good night," Sam says, shaking back. "See you tomorrow."

"See you then."


	5. Chapter 5

Sam and Diane were both at Cheers at noon the next morning, getting the place opened for business before the one o'clock opening. Sam was full of anticipation because of what he knew was going to occur sometime today but he tried not to show it. Diane had been feeling strange vibes all morning. Like she was expecting something to arrive or to happen, but what? She didn't know. it wasn't long before she got her answer.

Being the smart man that he was, Dr. Frasier Crane came just before the bar opened. He knew this was going to be big and he didn't want the likes of the barflys eavesdropping and/or wondering he was doing there. It wasn't that he didn't like Norm or Cliff or the others, it was just he knew what they were like. Hell, he figured, if the tables were turned, he'd probably behave the same way. Diane was shocked to see him, just like Frasier and Sam knew she would be.

"Hello, Sam," he greeted as he walked through the door. "Hello, Diane."

"Hello," she replies, taking a deep breath. "Surprised to see you here. I thought you would be on your way to Seattle."

"Well, about that..."

"Well," Sam says, heading towards his office. "I'm gonna go in here. I'll let you guys stay here and talk this out."

"What does he know?" Diane asked as soon as she heard the door behind her shut. Frasier takes a seat on one of the barstools.

"He and I had a talk last night."

"Oh really?" She asks, leaning her torso up against the bar. "What about?"

"About Seattle."

"Oh?"

"I didn't take this job out of spite for you, Diane. It was actually meant to be a honeymoon surprise after we would have eloped."

"So, you had this other job offer the whole time?"

"Yeah."

"And you just assumed that I would be okay with just running off to Seattle, just like that? Jesus, Frasier! Any other job offers in New York or Los Angeles or Chicago that I should have known about when Seattle was over?"

"Diane, I didn't mean for you to get hostile over this. I thought it would be good for you to get away from Boston. I mean, you've had quite a rough ride here the last few years."

"Those therapy sessions in Goldenbrook, when we would pillow talk at your place, did you ever pay attention or listen to me?"

"Of course I did," Frasier stated defensively.

"Really?" Diane's voice was getting louder and louder. "When I was in therapy, I kept saying how I wished I was home and how I was going to get better so I can go home. Then I came back and I told you how happy I was to be back home. Couldn't you see that I didn't want to be anywhere than Boston?"

"Then why did you say 'yes' to going to Europe with me?"

"Because I loved you and I wanted you to be happy. I thought I would be happy too when I would get there. I tried my best, Frasier, I suppressed a lot for you. When Coach died, I just couldn't pretend anymore."

"I love you, too, Diane. I honestly didn't know you were in so much pain. I feel terrible for not seeing it," he says getting up from his barstool. Diane knew he was coming around the corner to hug her. She had opened arms for him when he got around to her. They cried a little when they held each other.

"I'm so happy we're not getting married. We would have been so unhappy."

"Ain't that the truth," Frasier agrees as he plants a friendly kiss on Diane's lips. "Well, I'm afraid I have to go. I have a plane to catch."

"Do me a favor, please?"

"What's that Diane?"

"Have a good life."

"Only if you do the same for me."


	6. Chapter 6

It was September of 1987 and a very pregnant Diane Malone had finished her last night at Cheers for a while. She was finally free to go on maternity leave. Carla LeBec, who was now carrying her seventh _and_ eigth child, warned her that the first was her longest and hardest pregnancy. Diane didn't really know about that, but then again, she really hadn't had anything to compare this pregnancy with. She just knew that she felt extremely uncomfortable as her eight and a half month old fetus drooped slightly in between her legs as she buckled up and drove off into the night.

It was a pretty night. The moon was shining big and it was as bright as the billions upon billions of stars that lit up the sky. There was a warm breeze that was blowing in from the harbor. Diane rolls the windows and top down, knowing there was going to be few nights like this with October's harvest weather coming up around the bend. She giggled to herself when Carla and others had told her of how summer was the most unbearable season of all for a pregnant woman. She and her baby had seemed to thrive in the summer heat and all the while Diane wondered what was so terrible about this past glorious time of year.

Taking the long way back to hers and Sam's house, she decided to turn on the radio. She didn't really feel like listening to music. After all, a special someone's rerun session was running. She knew that if she turned the dial fast enough, she could catch the middle part of it.

"Hello," a familiar voice came through the airwaves. "You are on the air with Dr. Frasier Crane."

"Hello, Dr. Crane," a timid sounding man was coming through. "My name is Tim."

"Hello, Tim."

"Yeah, hello. I have this girlfriend you see..."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Well, I live in Portland, Oregon and I just got a great new job offer in San Diego."

"Congratulations."

"Well, thanks. But...I just got a new girlfriend..."

"Okay..."

"I don't know if she would be okay with this or not. I don't know what I should do. I mean, I really like her, but I know that this is a huge deal. I don't want to rush her and/ or lose her, you know?"

Frasier's program had Diane's full attention now. Whomever this Tim from Portland's girlfriend was, she could totally identify with her. Diane thought of how nice Tim was to be so considerate of her feelings, though. She sat in anticipation for Frasier's response.

"Well, Tim, I was in the same boat myself a couple of years ago. I won't go into much detail about it because I love and respect this woman very much. However, what I want to say is you have to listen to her. Women give you clues all the time. This woman had been born and raised in Portland, correct?"

"Yes and so have I," Tim replied.

"When she talks about Portland, what's her attitude towards it?"

"She has always loved it here. She talks about growing old here."

"Then there's your answer, Tim. Don't make her go to San Diego with you."

"I just don't know," Tim moaned. "I love her but I love my job to. I would like to move on with my life..."

"There you go. You need to live your own life. I know it's hard, but you cannot make your woman forsake everything she loves to start a new life with you. It will lead to terrible unhappiness. You deserve to live your best life and so doesn't she..."

Diane didn't give Frasier time to finish. She switched off the radio dial and wiped her eyes. She felt so proud of Frasier for not only saving that girl's life but that man's life too. Expierience can really be your greatest teacher if you choose to learn from it. It was obvious that Frasier had and was now passing on that wisdom to people he will probably never meet.

She had pulled into the driveway before she knew it. The baby was happy to be home for he or she kicked Diane in the ribs. Oh, Diane thought, you are going to be an athlete just like your father. Speaking of the father, there he was in the living room, waiting for her to come home. Diane parked the car, unbuckled, walked swiftly into the house and into her husband's open arms. They kissed each other's cheeks only to carry on with their hugging. Her pregnancy had made Sam completly affectionate towards his wife. Out of the corner of Diane's eye, she spotted Coach's portrait hanging above Sam's head. Diane smiled into Sam's shoulder as she realizes that Coach has been a gaurdian angel, watching over everyone the whole time.


End file.
